To Family
by Rule12H8r
Summary: Even when everything goes wrong, they still have their family. Tiva. Tags to 9x24. One-shot. Enjoy: Disclaimer: I own nothing


Taking a seat in the trademark uncomfortable plastic hospital chair, Gibbs continued staring at the door labeled 'Authorized Personnel Only' as though he thought if he glared hard enough the bold red words would disappear and he would be allowed in. It has been three hours and no words from the doctors. Nothing on either of them.

Sighing, he leant back a little in his chair and took a long look at the other in this room. He saw worried parents, siblings, and friends all looking at the same door hoping their loved ones would be strong enough to walk out of those doors and go home. Gibbs recognized a few agents from NCIS, likely waiting to see if their partner would make it out alive. Two people in particular caught his eye. He'd been watching them almost as much as he was the door.

They were two of the strongest, smartest, cunning agents in the field, and they were his. Tony and Ziva were sitting on the bench across the hall from him. They both made it out pretty easy, Tony with two broken ribs, Ziva with only a sprained ankle. The explosion however seemed to have more of an emotional impact on them than in did physical. They hadn't let go of each other's hand since they were rescued from the elevator, let alone left the other's side.

_Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Besides I practically broke rule 12 myself as it is with Dr. Ryan. Sure we don't technically work together, but it's awfully close. At least they're happy together, although I do wonder how long it will take before they tell me. _The last thought brought a small smirk to the lead agent's face.

The door opened and every single face in the waiting room turned to see if it was their loved ones fate about to be announced.

"Family of Ms. Abigail Sciuto?" The doctor said. As the remaining members of team Gibbs stood everyone else in the room sank farther back into their seats.

"That is us." Ziva said still clinging to DiNozzo's side as Gibbs showed the doctor his badge. The man barely looked at it, he had seen so many NCIS badges today and the hospital was swamped with the victims of the explosion.

"Ms. Sciuto had a minor concussion, which she woke up from shortly after her arrival. However, with the glass embedded in her side we had to put her on anesthetics for the surgery. She is still asleep, but will wake up in the next few hours. She is guaranteed a full recovery." The doctor said with a smile. This was one of the few times today that he was able to deliver optimistic news. The three feds shared his smile, even the corners of Gibbs mouth turned up slightly.

"When can we see her?" Tony asked.

"Now if you want. Only two at a time though." He answered looking at the three to see who would stay behind.

"DiNozzo, Ziver, you two go. I'll wait out here for Tim's doctor." Nodding, the younger agents silently followed Abby's doctor to her room while their boss stayed behind.

Reclaiming his seat Gibbs watched them making their way towards Abby's room. Just as they passed through the doorway he saw through the small window as Tony leant down and pressed a kiss to her hair. Gibbs wasn't really a softy, not at all, but even he thought it was adorable. Not that he would ever admit it. _I'm glad they finally got together _he thought to himself.

About an hour and a half later the waiting room was almost half as full as before, with Gibbs still waiting for word on McGee's condition in the middle of it.

Finally Gibbs impulsiveness got the better of him and he went right up to the nurse's station. Flashing his badge at the woman behind the desk "I need a report on the condition of Special Agent Timothy McGee." He demanded shortly. This had little effect on the woman as she simply smiled and turned to her computer "Just one moment." She typed his name into the system while Gibbs reattached the badge to his belt. "Yes, Timothy McGee is in room 213. Out of surgery for almost an hour now. Feel free to go see him if you like; his room is just down that hall." She informed him, her mood not once faltering, she pointed down the same hallway Tony and Ziva went through. Gibbs turned away muttering 'Couldn't have told me that an hour ago' not that the nurse heard it.

He headed straight to the room, stopping just outside the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself before turning the handle. It was a shared room split into fourths with curtains. Following his gut as usual, he went to the curtain in the back left corner. He was right, pushing aside the curtain he saw a tired looking agent staring back at him.

"Hey Boss. I got Dearing's file. It's on the hard drive in my pocket." He said with a sad smile, nodding toward the torn suit jacket he'd been wearing earlier that day.

Gibbs couldn't help but return the smile as he stood at his agent's bedside. However, as he stood there he couldn't help it when his hand reached around and lightly slapped McGee's head. Tim looked shocked, but said nothing. "You're a good agent Tim. I'm proud of what you did, next time just try keeping yourself safe, too." Tim smiled at that, not only did the man he looked up to most just compliment him; he also called him by his first name.

The smile quickly disappeared though when a new thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Did the rest of the team get out ok?" he questioned getting straight to the point.

Gibbs gave a light pat to his shoulder, "They are fine McGee, DiNozzo and Ziva made it out with only minor injuries."

"And Abby?"

"Abby should be fine too, I haven't seen her yet, but she should be waking up soon." McGee let out a big sigh of relief. His whole family would be okay.

The two stayed like that for a moment just letting the day events sink in. Just then a familiar voice called out. "Abby!" Sharing a curious glance, Gibbs walked over and gently pulled open the curtain next to them.

Sure enough, there was Abby sitting up in her bed giving Tony and Ziva the best hug she could in her weakened state. Gibbs cleared his throat. "Abs, how ya' feeling?"

Letting go of her friends she looked up at the older man. Being her vibrant, always happy self she immediately jumped up to hug her boss as well. The second she stood though she was overwhelmingly dizzy and sat right back down.

"Gibbs, thank god you're okay I was so worried about you. When I woke up I only thought Tony and Ziva were okay, but now you're here. Oh my gosh, Timmy. Is Timmy okay? I haven't seen him yet." Abby began rambling, but before she could really go into hysterics Gibbs stepped slightly to the side to reveal a grinning McGee lying on his hospital bed. Abby squealed and clapped.

Slowly, carefully McGee sat up and moved to join the people who meant the world to him. Gibbs saw this and putting stabling arm around his waist and brought him over to sit instead at the edge of Abby's bed where he was quickly engulfed in a giant Abby style hug.

"Uh, guys. Ziva and I wanted to tell you something." Tony hesitantly announced.

If possible, it seemed as if Abby's smile widened even more. She had a feeling she knew what he was about to say, if their still joined hands were any indication.

"We are getting married." Ziva finished.

Every head in the room turned to see Gibbs' reaction. His face, which moments ago was smug with the thought of knowing what was coming, was now almost impossible to read. His slightly widened eyes however gave away his shock. After an awkward minute of silence, a nurse walked in.

"Ms. Sciuto, here are you're pain medications." She said in a timid voice noting that it seemed she was interrupting an important conversation. She could feel the tension radiating between the couple to her left and who appeared to be an angry father-in-law on the other side of her patient's bed.

Abby snapped out of the trance the whole group appeared to be in. "Thanks, and really, feel free to call me Abby." She smiled politely. The nurse smiled and nodded in response before slipping back out.

"Married?" Gibbs asked unbelievably. The couple shared a look of joy despite the situation before looking back to their boss nodding.

"I'm assuming this started in the elevator today?" He asked. Again they nodded.

"_Hey, Zi?" Tony asked. They had been trapped in the elevator for almost an hour, for the most part in silence._

"_Yes Tony?" Ziva said from his side where the whole lengths of their bodies were connected. It was their way of comforting each other without overstepping the boundaries of their friendship/partnership that they'd established over the years._

_Little did she know this conversation would completely shatter those boundaries._

"_Remember before when we were talking about weddings?" He asked softly._

"_Of course, what about it?" she replied glad to have a distraction from the tragedy surrounding her._

"_Well which would you do? Full out bridezilla style wedding or just quick and easy elopement?"_

"_I don't think it would matter as long as I was marrying the one man I truly care about. However," she added "if I did get to plan the ceremony I would want a small, elegant wedding. Nothing too big, just family and close friends. What about you Tony?" She turned to look at him as she finished what she was saying._

"_Well, I would let the lovely bride get whatever kind of wedding she wants. I do agree with you though, a small wedding surrounded by the people that mean the most to me." He explained._

_Another short, comfortable silence washed over them._

"_Zi?"_

"_Yes Tony?" she repeated._

"_You said the man you truly care about. Present tense. Did you meet someone new?" He asked sounding a bit disappointed._

"_No, more like I have loved this wonderful man who has been an important part of my life for a several years now, and only just admitted it to myself." She intertwined their fingers as she said this._

_He hoped beyond his wildest dreams that he knew just who she was talking about, although he was too afraid of being let down to believe it._

"_Years? Wow, do I get to meet him?" He asked, much like when she first started seeing CIRay._

"_You already have." She said quietly as she realized he either wasn't getting what she was hinting at or didn't feel the same way._

"_Well in that case do I at least get a hint?" He said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood despite how seriously he felt about it, because he could practically see her walls coming up._

"_He works at NCIS, is very funny, charming, and he used to be a player, but less so lately. He seems as though he wants to settle down now, much like myself. He loves Frank Sinatra, movies, and would do anything for family." She smiled._

"_And if he offered you that small, elegant wedding with just your family and close friends, what would you say?" He asked. As he did he turned toward her, cupping her cheek to get her to face him._

"_I do." She knew he knew just who she was talking about._

_Slowly they leant into each other and closed their eyes. Their lips brushed lightly, barely even touching. Ziva, regaining the confidence she seemed to be lacking moments ago, brought her arms around his neck and quickly deepened the kiss._

"Well, he proposed in the elevator, but I think this has been a long time coming." She said, before timidly adding, "Do you approve?"

Gibbs sighed, calming visibly. Meanwhile, McGee and Abby continued to silently watch on.

"I suppose, when you got out of that elevator I knew something happened." He admitted. "I figured you were together now. I was okay with that, I just wasn't expecting this so fast."

"We won't be getting married right away boss. We want this to last. The wedding we plan on holding off on, but we wanted the commitment to be there." Tony informed Gibbs.

"I think I can learn to be okay with it." He said, more trying to convince himself than the people in front of him.

"Good, because I was hoping, when the time comes, that you would walk me down the aisle?" Ziva asked hopefully.

"I'd love to Ziver." Gibbs said putting a hand on her shoulder as he walked over.

He placed a kiss to her forehead before turning to the second half of the dynamic duo. The two stared at each other for a moment, having a private conversation. Tony nodded. "I'll take care of her boss. I love her." "Good." Was the short response he received before getting a sharp slap to the back of his head.

"Thanks boss." Tony said with a smirk.

Finally the silent observers spoke up.

"That's fifty bucks Tim. Pay up!" Abby said, nudging him with her elbow.

Tony and Ziva looked at the two, confused as to what they were talking about.

"I knew you two would be together by the end of this year. Might as well make some money off of it." Abby explained with a shrug, as if betting on her friends' love life was a common occurrence. "Don't worry, you'll get your cut." She added.

The couple just shook their heads, never question Abby.

The next day the team were all out of the hospital. Dearing's case had been handed off to the FBI and they were given the rest of the week off to recuperate. Ducky was finally healthy enough to fly back to DC, Jimmy stayed back for his honeymoon.

That Thursday Tony, Ziva, Abby, Tim, and Ducky all received the same email.

_Dinner tomorrow at my house. Be there at 6._

_-Gibbs_

The surprise wasn't that Gibbs was hosting a dinner party, more so at the fact that he actually managed to use his email without breaking his computer.

On Friday the whole team was sitting at Gibbs dining room table, laughing and sharing stories. Even Gibbs was putting in his two cents every now and then. Just as everyone was about to start eating Gibbs stood holding his wine glass, he actually had wine instead of bourbon for once.

"Congratulations to the future newlyweds, as well as Palmer and Breena who aren't with us today. I hope you all have better marriages be better than mine. I also wanted to wish Abs, McGee, and Ducky a quick, healthy recovery." Gibbs paused at this as he raised his glass higher. "To family."

"To family!" everyone cheered clinking their glasses together.

For a long time Gibbs felt guilty thinking of these people as family. He didn't want to betray Kelly and Shannon. He didn't want to replace them. Now, sitting at this table all Gibbs could think about was that they would really love this mismatched little group they'd put together. He had a feeling Shannon and Kelly would just be glad that he was happy.


End file.
